Buying a Powerbook with G4 or.. waiting for Powerbook with Intel?

ep0niks

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I'm about to order my Powerbook G4 15.2".. and thinked about waiting for new PB with Intel chip, but what's the point of having a PB with an x86 architecture? I'll go buy an Acer top of the line for 1000$ less.

What's your opinion beside OS X which will become dual platform? I mean why wait or why buy now!

Thanks.
 
What do you mean "what's the point?" A PC doesn't have OS X, nor does it have support for Apple's applications. OS X is the heart of the Mac. With the move to Intel, it's likely that you will be able to install Windows alongside OS X, if that's of interest to you.

The new architecture will allow for faster PowerBooks with longer battery life, and will possibly be even thinner (according to rumors). At this point I would at least wait until MacWorld San Francisco, which is less than a month away. Most opinions are that Apple will not release pro machines based on the Intel chips at that time, but I would put my money on seeing an Intel PowerBook by the middle of 2006.

If you buy the PowerBook now, you might kick yourself later for not waiting on the Intel. If you wait, then the worst that happens is that you end up buying a PowerPC-based PB anyway (possibly after prices drop on account of the Intel machines).

My main question for you would be what apps will you be using? If there are a lot of 3rd-party apps that might not be rewritten for x86 yet, then it might be worthwhile for you to stick with the PowerPC for a while longer. If you'll be mostly using Apple apps, then they will undoubtedly be written with universal binaries for full support on both x86 and PowerPC architectures.

In my opinion, the PowerPC is too overpriced considering how long it has been available as a G4 system. I'd stick it out a bit longer to see what's coming. :) Also, why Acer? I had an Acer once -- not too impressed myself.
 
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The Acer part was sarcastic.. hehe

The "What's the point?" question was for the recently OSX dev kit cracked.. i know there are huge slowdown on non-Apple x86 hardware but if they can match the speed on both non-Apple and Apple x86 hardware i mean i love Apple hardware but it's a bit pricey?!

I've got 2500$ from my boss to buy a laptop for my work.. i'd love to buy a PB because i'm really bored with Windows in general and i've always liked OS X (i'm a unix guy). As your question about third party software i'll end up using only three programs one's called PowerTerm as well as Photoshop CS2 and MS Office 2004 (shrug) so i'm not worried for that.

Also i'm not that patient.. mid 2006 is too far but for the possible launch of Intel based iBook in january it is more realistic for me BUT again i'm a power user i like to use fast hardware and i know the iBook line is cheaper in price and performance than PB.

I can have a PPC-based Powerbook 15.2" with 1GB of ram for 2400$ CAD delivered on my desk.. i'm like a child in a toy store right now.
 
OK, that's good information to know. :)

I almost mentioned the potential iBook release in January. Who knows, it might be enough for self-proclaimed "power users" who don't do heavy graphic and video processing. It's almost certain to be dual-core, and it's got to be faster than the current PowerBook. In any case, I will be buying an Intel iBook next year. :)

$2500 is a huge budget for a laptop! How about buying 2 iBooks once they come out? :p

Apple will not allow OS X to be run on a non-Apple machine, so even if it can be done it will be illegal. You wouldn't be loading illegal software on a work machine, would you? ;)

I agree that the Intel PowerBook might be too far away to wait for. I'd at least wait for MWSF to see how the iBook rumor pans out.
 
If you need the machine, buy it. If you don't, then don't.

One of the most commonly asked questions relating to macs is "should I buy now", and what I've just said is the only thing that I will ever say.

Even if you buy a new Powerbook now, and then Intel Powerbook's are released in Feb 2007... chances are you'll still want one, you'll have just had a little longer to enjoy yours than if they were released in Feb 2006.

So if you need it, buy it.
 
Like SPeedY_B said, if you need it then get it.

Powerbooks are lovely machines and OSX is excellent. All I will say is that right now OSX is proven on the PPC platform. The Intel switch is going to be 'interesting'. I bought another iBook just a few months ago, personally I dont care for the fact that the Intels will be released but I do intend on upgrading my Desktop mid-2006/2007 which will probably end up being a nice Intel iMac.

Thats beside the point though. If you like Powerbooks and would like one now then go for it. For all we know the MacIntels could be released with a multitude of issues.... or they could be perfect we wont know until the machines are released.
 
Yeah i'll go with good ol' ppc based G4. If only if they can release the intel ibook by very early 2006, some apps like adobe's one will have to run under rosetta (about 30% slower than native ppc) so i think by the time intel powerbook build their reputation i will have plenty of time to enjoy my ppc powerbook.

Thanks all!
 

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Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
Any of the SP crew still out there?
Xie wrote on Electronic Punk's profile.
Impressed you have kept this alive this long EP! So many sites have come and gone. :(

Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
hello peeps... is been some time since i last came here.
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